Oldest flying DC-3 at Platte Valley Airport Saturday

The Vintage Aero Flying Museum near Fort Lupton will host the Flagship Detroit, the oldest DC-3 still flying, this weekend.

The plane will be on display from 12-5 p.m., Saturday and will offer rides from 5-7 p.m.

The museum is located at the Platte Valley Airport, 7507 Weld County Road 39, about eight miles northeast of Fort Lupton. Also on Saturday, a free spaghetti lunch and talk featuring Ace Avakian, who was a pilot for Frontier Airlines and flew a DC-3, will be offered.

The Vintage Aero Flying Museum is the largest collection of World War I material and uniforms in the world.

It is cited by the Smithsonian Institution as a reference for WWI aviation history and hold the Charter of the LaFayette Flying Corps. In its collection, the museum has the materials of more than 100 WWI pilots, including uniforms, documents, medals, personal effects and memorabilia. Of those pilots, 28 were aces in WWI and represent the major powers who fought in that war.

The museum also has WWI aircraft that include two 1917 Se5a (7/8 scale flying replicas), a 1917 Fokker DrI flying replica, a 1918 full scale Fokker DVII, a full scale Fokker DVIII; WWII and 1941 Consolidated Vultee BT-13a, along with other planes.